Gallagher PREM off to a controversial start as Sale bag win

New signing Nathan Jibulu scored a second-half try as Sale beat Gloucester 27-10 to claim a bonus-point win on the opening night of the new Gallagher Prem season.

The hooker, a summer acquisition from Harlequins, dived over the line from a driving maul in the 56th minute before Joe Carpenter and Hyron Andrews added late scores to secure the bonus point.

England winger Tom Roebuck’s try put Sale ahead in the 16th minute, after Ben Curry appeared to knock on in the tackle, but George Skivington’s visitors hit back through Jack Clement’s touchdown on the stroke of half-time.

Yet Jibulu’s try levelled matters at 10-10 after Clement had been sin-binned and George Ford’s conversion edged Sale back in front at 12-10.

Ford then supplied the pass to send Carpenter over for the hosts’ third try before Andrews grabbed their fourth for the bonus point.

Sale began brightly with England fly-half Ford looking to orchestrate their attacks with some deft handling and probing kicks.

Ford’s England team-mates Carpenter, Roebuck, Bevan Rodd, Asher Opoku-Fordjour and Ben Curry also started while new club captain Ernst van Rhyn led Sale for the first time.

Gloucester’s club captain Tomos Williams made his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury when playing for the British and Irish Lions during their summer tour of Australia.

He started alongside new signing Ross Byrne at half-back, while Harrison Bellamy made his first Prem start in the pack and new signing Ben Loader lined up on the right wing.

But Sale opened the scoring when Roebuck scooped up a loose ball and dotted down to claim the first try of the new season. The officials had a long, hard look at the incident, which led to the ball going to ground and forward, but decided that only a Gloucester hand had been involved.

Ford could not convert, but the hosts continued to hold the upper hand and thought they had been rewarded with a second try in the 31st minute.

A Sale lineout on the right flank led to Rodd being driven over the line, but the TMO chalked the try off for an obstruction as Gloucester survived.

From there, the visitors began to fashion some promising moves, and they finally got off the mark in the 35th minute when Byrne kicked a long-range penalty.

And their pressure told on the stroke of half-time when Clement charged through the home defence to cross the line from close range with Byrne converting to give Gloucester a 10-5 interval lead.

Sale thought they had their second try shortly after half-time when scrum-half Gus Warr had a try ruled out by the TMO for a forward pass.

Gloucester then lost their tryscorer Clement to the sinbin for bringing down a maul illegally and they were punished when Jibulu went over from close range and Ford converted before adding a penalty.

With eight minutes remaining, Ford threw an exquisite pass out to Carpenter inside the right channel, and the full-back showed his class to power over the line for a try, which Ford converted.

In the last minute, Andrews finished off some clever handling in the right corner for the bonus-point try.